Laptop Maintenance and Assembly

Preventive maintenance is the key to obtaining years of trouble-free service from your computer. Laptop systems are especially prone to problems because they are portable and therefore exposed to potentially harsh environments, rougher handling, and more problems than desktop systems that remain in a single location. This chapter will help you perform maintenance on your laptop.

This chapter is from the book

This chapter is from the book

Preventive
Maintenance

Preventive maintenance is the key to obtaining years of trouble-free service
from your computer. Laptop systems are especially prone to problems because they
are portable and therefore exposed to potentially harsh environments, rougher
handling, and more problems than desktop systems that remain in a single
location. All it takes is an accident such as dropping the laptop onto a hard
surface to turn thousands of dollars’ worth of computer into so much junk.
A little care combined with some simple preventive maintenance procedures can
reduce problem behavior, data loss, and component failure as well as ensure a
longer, trouble-free life for your system. In some cases, I have
"repaired" ailing systems with nothing more than a preventive
maintenance session. Preventive maintenance also can increase your
system’s resale value because it will look and run better.

Developing a preventive maintenance program is important to everyone who uses
or manages laptops. The two main types of preventive maintenance procedures are
passive and active.

Passive preventive maintenance includes precautionary steps you can
take to protect a system from the environment, such as using power-protection
devices; ensuring a clean, temperature-controlled environment; and preventing
excessive vibration. In other words, passive preventive maintenance means
treating your system well and with care.

An active preventive maintenance program includes performing
procedures that promote a longer, trouble-free life for your laptop. This type
of preventive maintenance primarily involves the periodic cleaning of the system
and its components, as well as performing backups, antivirus and antispyware
scans, and other software-related procedures. The following sections describe
both passive and active preventive maintenance procedures.

Passive Preventive Maintenance Procedures

Passive preventive maintenance involves taking care of the system by
providing the best possible environment—both physical and
electrical—for the system. Physical concerns include conditions such as
ambient temperature, thermal stress from power cycling, dust and smoke
contamination, and disturbances such as shock and vibration. Electrical concerns
include items such as static electricity, power-line noise (when the system is
plugged into a wall outlet or other external power source), and radio-frequency
interference. Each of these environmental concerns is discussed in the following
subsections.

General System Care and Handling

Laptop computers are expensive machines built with significantly tighter
tolerances than their desktop counterparts. Although most laptops are designed
to function reliably in normal environments, it helps to use some common sense
when transporting, operating, or otherwise handling a laptop system. If you
treat the system as if it were a very expensive piece of precision electronic
machinery (which it truly is!), you will greatly minimize the chances of
problems occurring.

Instead of telling you what you should do to take care of your
system, it is perhaps easier to tell you what you shouldn’t do. I
often observe people doing things to their laptop computers that make me cringe.
While some of these are painfully obvious, here is a list of bad things
you should not do to your laptop computer:

Bump, jar, shake or physically punish the system, especially while it is
running.

Drop the system. Even if it is in a carrying case, many cases are not
padded well enough for excessively rough treatment.

Pack a laptop in luggage that will be checked at the airport, thus
subjecting it to very rough handling.

Place heavy cases or other objects on top of a laptop (such as in the
overhead compartment on a plane), even if it is in a carrying case.

Store the system where the temperature is below 41°F (5°C) or
above 95°F (35° C).

Operate the computer on a blanket or other soft surface where material
might bunch up and cover the cooling vents on the sides or back, which will
cause the system to overheat.

Operate the computer while it is still half-inside a carrying case, which
will block the cooling vents and cause overheating.

Place the system closer than about 5 inches (13cm) from any electrical
device that generates a strong magnetic field, such as electric motors, TVs,
refrigerators, and large audio speakers.

Operate two-way radio transmitters in close proximity to the system,
which can induce currents and voltages causing lockups or failures.

Spill liquids on the system, which may contaminate the internal
components and/or cause a short circuit.

Place heavy objects on the system with the lid closed or pack the system
in a tightly compressed suitcase or bag, which may put excessive pressure on the
LCD panel.

Place an object between the display lid and keyboard, which may cause
damage when the lid is closed.

Pick up or hold the system by the LCD panel, which may damage the display
and/or the hinges.

Scratch, twist, or push on the surface of the LCD panel.

Move the system or pull on the AC adapter cord while the adapter is
plugged in, which may cause the plug to break off and/or damage the
socket.

Plug a modem cable into an Ethernet port (and vice versa), which may
damage the connectors.

Hard-mount the system in a vehicle or anywhere that it is subject to
strong vibration.

Crush, drop, or press on the cover of a disk drive while it is removed
from the system.

Insert a floppy disk into a floppy drive at an angle or upside down,
which may cause it to jam in the drive.

Place more than one label on a floppy disk, which might cause it to jam
in the drive.

Touch the lens on the CD-ROM tray when it is open, which may contaminate
the lens and/or throw it out of alignment.

Connect the internal modem in the system to a private branch exchange
(PBX) or other digital telephone line that may subject the modem to improper
voltages, thus causing permanent damage.

Forget your passwords. If you forget a supervisor or hard disk password,
there is no easy way to reset it, and you may have to replace the motherboard or
hard disk.

Speaking from experience, I can tell you that the systems you use will last a
lot longer if you avoid any of the aforementioned behavior.

The Operating Environment

Oddly enough, one of the most overlooked aspects of preventive maintenance is
protecting the hardware—and the sizable financial investment it
represents—from environmental abuse. Computers are relatively forgiving,
and they are generally safe in an environment that is comfortable for people.
Portable computers, however, are often tossed around and treated with no more
respect than a cheap calculator. The result of this type of abuse can be a
variety of system crashes and failures.

Temperature, Humidity, and Altitude

All computers are designed to operate within specific ranges of temperature,
humidity, and altitude. Exceeding the allowable ranges places stress on the
system and can cause it to fail prematurely. Therefore, keeping an eye on the
conditions where you both use and store your computer is important for the
successful operation of the system.

Temperature, humidity, and altitude variations can lead to serious problems.
If extreme temperature variations occur over a short period, expansion and
contraction can cause signal traces on circuit boards to crack and separate, and
solder joints can break. Extreme humidity can cause contacts in the system to
undergo accelerated corrosion or condensation to form in the system and disk
drives. Extremely dry conditions can cause problems with static electricity.
Operating at high altitudes causes problems with cooling (lower density air
renders the cooling system less effective) as well as the internal "air
bearing" on which the heads float in the hard drive while operating.

To ensure that your system will be operated in the temperature, humidity, and
altitude ranges for which it was designed, I recommend you consult your system
specifications for the environmental range limits. Most manufacturers provide
data about the correct operating temperature range for their systems in the
owner’s manual. Two sets of specifications are normally listed: one that
applies to an operating system and the other for a system powered off. As an
example, IBM indicates the following allowable environmental limits for most of
its ThinkPad portable systems:

Maximum
altitude without pressurization

10,000
ft. (3,048m)

Temperature
range (not operating)

41°110°F
(5°43°C)

Maximum
temperature while operating:

Above
8,000 ft. (2,438m)

88°F
(31°C)

Below
8,000 ft. (2,438m)

95°F
(35°C)

Minimum
temperature while operating:

Not
using the floppy drive

41°F
(5°C)

Using
the floppy drive

50°F
(10°C)

Minimum
battery temperature when charging

50°F
(10°C)

Relative
humidity while operating:

Not
using the floppy drive

8%95%

Using
the floppy drive

8%80%

Note that the maximum allowable ambient temperature drops to
only 88°F (31°C) at altitudes over 8,000 ft. (2,438m). This is due to
the lower air density at high altitudes, which reduces the efficiency of the
computer’s cooling system. Also note the minimum operating and
nonoperating temperature of 41°F (5°C). This means that for many areas
of the country, it may not be wise to leave a laptop system in a car for more
than a short period, or to ship a system using a mail or package carrier during
the winter. As you can see from the preceding data, most environmental
conditions that are comfortable for people are also good for laptop computer
use.

Temperature Acclimation

In addition to the temperature limits just discussed, it is a good idea to
avoid rapid changes in temperature as well. If a rapid rise in temperature
occurs—for example, when a system is shipped during the winter and then
brought indoors—you should allow the system (and the hard drive inside) to
acclimate to normal room temperature before turning it on. In extreme cases,
condensation can form on the internal electronics as well as on the platters
inside the drive’s head disk assembly (HDA), which is disastrous for the
drive if you turn it on before the condensation has a chance to evaporate.

Most hard drives have a filtered port that bleeds air into and out of the
head disk assembly (HDA) so that moisture can enter the drive; therefore, after
some period of time, it must be assumed that the humidity inside any hard disk
is similar to the humidity outside the drive. Humidity can become a serious
problem if it is allowed to condense—and especially if you power up the
drive while this condensation is present. Most hard disk manufacturers have
specified procedures for acclimating a hard drive to a new environment with
different temperature and humidity ranges, especially for bringing a drive into
a warmer environment in which condensation can form. This situation should be of
special concern to users of laptop and portable systems. If you leave a portable
system in an automobile trunk during the winter, for example, it could be
catastrophic to bring the machine inside and power it up without allowing it
time to acclimate to the temperature indoors.

The following text, along with Table 3.1, are taken from the factory
packaging that Control Data Corporation (later Imprimis, and eventually Seagate)
used to ship with its hard drives:

If you have just received or removed this unit from a climate with
temperatures at or below 50°F (10°C), do not open this container until
the following conditions are met; otherwise, condensation could occur and damage
to the device and/or media may result. Place this package in the operating
environment for the time duration according to the temperature chart.

Table 3.1 Hard Disk Drive Environmental Acclimation
Table

Previous Climate Temperature

Acclimation Time

Previous Climate Temperature

Acclimation Time

+40°F (+4°C)

13 hours

0°F (–18°C)

18 hours

+30°F (–1°C)

15 hours

–10°F (–23°C)

20 hours

+20°F (–7°C)

16 hours

–20°F (–29°C)

22 hours

+10°F (–12°C)

17 hours

–30°F (–34°C) or less

27 hours

As you can see from Table 3.1, you must place a portable system
with a hard drive that has been stored in a colder-than-normal environment into
its normal operating environment for a specified amount of time to allow it to
acclimate before you power it on. Manufacturers normally advise that you leave
the system in its packing or carrying case until it is acclimated. Removing the
system from a shipping carton when extremely cold increases the likelihood of
condensation forming. Of course, condensation can also affect other parts of the
computer, especially circuit boards and connectors, causing short circuits or
corrosion that can negatively affect operation or even cause damage.

Static Electricity

Static electricity or electrostatic discharge (ESD) can cause numerous
problems within a system. The problems usually appear during the winter months
when humidity is low or in extremely dry climates where the humidity is low
year-round. In these cases, you might need to take special precautions to ensure
that your computer is not damaged. See the section "ESD Protection
Tools," later in this chapter, for more information on ESD.

Static discharges outside a system-unit chassis are rarely a source of
permanent problems within the system. Usually, the worst possible effect of a
static discharge to the case, keyboard, or even a location near the computer is
a system lockup, which can result in lost data. If you know you are carrying a
charge, before touching the keyboard or system, you might try discharging
yourself by touching some other metal object or device to bleed off some of the
charge. Whenever you open a system unit or handle devices removed from the
system, you must be more careful with static.

Radio-Frequency Interference

Radio-frequency interference (RFI) is easily overlooked as a problem factor.
The interference is caused by any source of radio transmissions near a computer
system. Living next door to a 50,000-watt commercial radio station is one sure
way to get RFI problems, but less-powerful portable transmitters can cause
problems, too. I know of many instances in which cordless telephones have caused
sporadic random keystrokes to appear, as though an invisible entity were typing
on the keyboard. I also have seen strong RFI from portable two-way radios cause
a system to lock up. Solutions to RFI problems are more difficult to state
because every case must be handled differently. Sometimes, simply moving the
system eliminates the problem because radio signals can be directional in
nature. If you have external devices attached to your laptop (such as an
external keyboard, mouse, or display), sometimes you must invest in specially
shielded cables for these devices. If the keyboard or mouse is wireless, then
RFI can be especially problematic, and the only solution may be to try a
different brand or model that operates on a different frequency.

One type of solution to an RFI noise problem with cables is to pass the cable
through a toroidal iron core, a doughnut-shaped piece of iron placed around a
cable to suppress both the reception and transmission of electromagnetic
interference (EMI). You’ll notice these cores on many of the laptop
external data (USB, FireWire, and so on) and power cords. If you can isolate an
RFI noise problem in a particular cable, you often can solve the problem by
passing the cable through a toroidal core. Because the cable must pass through
the center hole of the core, it often is difficult to add a toroid to a cable
that already has end connectors installed.

RadioShack and other electronics supply stores sell special snap-together
toroids designed specifically to be added to cables already in use. They look
like a small cylinder that has been sliced in half. You simply lay the cable in
the center of one of the halves and snap the two halves together over the cable.
This type of construction makes adding the noise-suppression features of a
toroid to virtually any existing cable easy.

TIP

For a comprehensive selection of electronics parts, tools and other supplies,
I recommend the following sources:

Most of these companies also have comprehensive paper catalogs, which can
often make general browsing as well as finding what you need much easier.

The best, if not the easiest, way to eliminate an RFI problem is to correct
it at the source. It is unlikely that you’ll be able to convince the
commercial radio station near your office to shut down, but if you are dealing
with a small radio transmitter that is generating RFI, sometimes you can add a
filter to the transmitter that suppresses spurious emissions. Unfortunately,
problems sometimes persist until the transmitter is either switched off or moved
some distance away from the affected computer.

Dust and Pollutants

It should be obvious that dirt, smoke, dust, and other pollutants are bad for
your system. The cooling fan found in most modern laptop systems carries
airborne particles through the system, where they can collect inside. I’m
not saying that it is unsafe to use a laptop system outside or in an environment
that isn’t absolutely pristine, but I am saying that you should consider
the working environment. If you take care of your system, it will serve you
longer and with fewer problems.

If your system is going to be regularly used in an extreme working
environment, you might want to investigate some of the specialized systems on
the market specifically designed for use in harsh environments. Panasonic, for
example, manufactures a complete line of systems called Toughbooks,
which are specially designed to survive under harsh conditions. Durability
features available in the Toughbook line include the following:

Magnesium alloy case with handle

Moisture- and dust-resistant LCD, keyboard, and touchpad

Sealed port and connector covers

Shock-mounted removable HDD in a stainless-steel case

Vibration- and drop-shock-resistant design

Rugged hinges

Unfortunately, in most cases, because rugged systems must be specially
designed, and especially because they don’t sell as well as the
mainstream, nonrugged models, rugged systems are usually more limited in
options, are not updated as frequently as mainstream models, and in general will
offer much less performance than mainstream models. Still, if a mainstream model
simply won’t do for durability, you should consider one of the specially
designed rugged models, such as the Panasonic Toughbooks. For more information
on the Toughbook line of laptop systems, visit Panasonic at
http://www.panasonic.com/toughbook.

Tips for Transporting Your System

When you are transporting a laptop computer, I recommend you consider the
following guidelines in order to protect the system:

Remove all floppy disk and/or CD/DVD disc media from the drives.

Remove all PC Card/CardBus or ExpressCard adapters from their slots and
place them in their protective covers. I often use small ziplock bags if they
did not come with small cases or covers.

Make sure the main battery is fully seated or possibly eject the battery
for shipping if you suspect the handling will be rough. The battery is a
relatively heavy component and your laptop could be seriously damaged if the
battery isn’t seated properly and the laptop (or bag containing your
laptop) receives a sharp blow.

Make sure the system is fully powered off (or optionally in Hibernate
mode) and not in a Suspend or Standby mode.

If the power switch is accessible with the lid closed, make sure the
switch is locked or covered so that the system cannot be accidentally powered on
while being transported.

Make sure all access doors and covers are in position and
closed.

Use a carrying case that provides adequate shock protection
(cushioning).

If your travel involves flying, you should be aware that FAA regulations now
call for more rigorous screening of electronic devices, including laptop
computers. The inspections normally require that you remove the system from its
travel case and place the unprotected system on the conveyor belt that takes it
through the X-ray machine. Make sure you don’t put the system upside-down
on the conveyor, because that can put pressure on the LCD, potentially causing
damage.

In some cases you may be required to power-on the system after the trip
through the X-ray machine in order to demonstrate computer functionality. In
that situation, be sure you remember to power the system back off (or optionally
place it in Hibernate mode) before returning it to its travel case. Note that
X-rays do not harm either the computer or removable storage media. See
"Airport X-Ray Machines and Metal Detectors" in Chapter 10,
"Removable Storage," for more information.

If you ever need to ship the system via the mail or through a package carrier
such as UPS or FedEx, it is extremely important that you properly pack the
system to prevent damage. In general, it is hard to find a better shipping box
and packing material than what the system was originally packed in when new. For
that reason, I highly recommend you retain the original box and packing
materials after purchasing a system. This will prove to be extremely useful in
any case where you need to ship the system to a remote destination.

Following these guidelines for transporting or shipping the system will help
to ensure the machine arrives in working order at the destination.

Active Preventive Maintenance Procedures

How often you should perform active preventive maintenance procedures depends
on the environment in which you operate your system as well as the quality of
the system’s components. If your system is in a dirty environment, such as
a machine shop floor or a gas station service area, you might need to clean your
system every three months or less. For normal office environments, cleaning a
system every few months to a year is usually fine. If you frequently use your
system outdoors, it may require more frequent cleanings, depending on the amount
of dirt and dust in the environment.

Other preventive maintenance procedures include making periodic backups of
your data. Also, depending on what operating system and file system you use, you
should defragment your hard disks at least once a month to maintain disk
efficiency and speed, as well as to increase your ability to recover data should
there be a more serious problem. See the section titled "Defragmenting
Files" later in this chapter.

The following is a sample weekly disk-maintenance checklist:

Back up any data or important files.

Run a full system antivirus and antispyware scan. Before starting the
scans, be sure to check for and install antivirus and antispyware software
updates. Note that most of these programs have integrated update routines that
automatically check for updates on a weekly or monthly basis, or at some other
interval you may choose.

Run the Windows Disk Cleanup tool, which searches the system for files
you can safely delete, such as

Files in the Recycle Bin.

Temporary Internet files.

Windows temporary files.

Install programs for previously downloaded and installed
programs.

System restore points except the most recent restore point.

Optional Windows components that you are not using.

Installed programs that you no longer use.

Finally, run a disk-defragmenting program.

About System Restore

System Restore is an automatic service in Windows Me, XP, and later versions
that periodically creates Restore Points, which are snapshots of the Registry
and certain other dynamic system files. These Restore Points do not include any
user or application data and should therefore not be confused with or used in
place of normal file or data backup procedures. The System Restore application
(found in the Program menu under Accessories, System Tools) can be used to
manually return a system to a previously created Restore Point, as well as to
manually create a new Restore Point. Normally, you don’t ever need to
create Restore Points manually because they are automatically created

Every time you install an application

Every time an update is installed with Automatic Updates

Every time an update is installed with Windows Update

Every time you install an unsigned driver

Every 24 hours if the system is turned on, or if it has been more than 24
hours since the last Restore Point was created

While it is generally not necessary to create Restore Points manually, I do
recommend creating a manual Restore Point before editing the Windows Registry
directly because that will essentially create a backup of the Registry you can
restore if your edit causes problems.

The following are some monthly maintenance procedures you should perform:

Create an operating system startup disk or ensure you have access to a
bootable OS installation CD for recovery purposes.

Check for and install any BIOS updates.

Check for and install any updated drivers for the video, sound, modem,
and other devices.

Check for and install any operating system updates.

Clean the system, including the LCD screen, keyboard, and especially the
cooling vents.

Check that the cooling fans are operating properly. Most laptops have
only a single fan, but some have more than one.

Many people use a laptop as an accessory to a desktop system. In that case,
you may have files that you work with while traveling that need to be
synchronized with files on your desktop or on a server. You can use the Windows
Briefcase or Synchronization Manager utility to accomplish this, but an
easier-to-use and more effective solution is a simple file or directory
synchronization tool like Good Sync
(http://www.goodsync.com).
Normally, you want to synchronize files every time you disconnect and reconnect
to your desktop system or network.

System Backups

One of the most important preventive maintenance procedures is the
performance of regular system backups. A sad reality in the
computer-repair-and-servicing world is that hardware can always be repaired or
replaced, but data cannot. Many hard disk troubleshooting and service
procedures, for example, require that you repartition or reformat the disk,
which overwrites all existing data.

The hard disk drive capacity in a typical laptop system has grown far beyond
the point at which floppy disks are a viable backup solution. Backup solutions
that employ floppy disk drives are insufficient and too costly due to the amount
of media required. Table 3.2 shows the number of units of different types of
media required to back up the 80GB drive in my current laptop system.

Table 3.2 Amounts and Costs of Different Media Required to Back Up a
Full 80GB Drive

Media Type

Number Required

Unit Cost

Net Cost

1.44MB floppy disks

54,883

$0.15

$8,232

48x 80-minute/700MB CD-R discs

109

$0.25

$27

4x 4.7GB DVD+-R discs

18

$1.50

$27

DAT DDS-4 tapes (native)

4

$15.00

$60

DAT DDS-4 tapes (compressed)

2

$15.00

$30

Assuming the drive is full, it would take 54,883 1.44MB floppy
disks, for example, to back up the 80GB hard disk in my current laptop system!
That would cost more than $8,232 worth of floppy disks, not to mention the time
involved. My laptop includes a CD-RW drive, as do many of the systems today, but
as you can see, even using CD-R would be miserable, requiring 109 discs to back
up the entire drive. DVD+-R, on the other hand, would require only 18 discs,
which still wouldn’t be much fun but is much more doable in a pinch. Tape
really shines here, because only two DAT DDS-4 tapes are required to back up the
entire drive, meaning I would have to switch tapes only once during the backup.
Although the media cost is a little higher with the tape as compared to CD/DVD,
the time-savings are enormous. Imagine trying to back up a full 300GB drive in a
desktop system, which would require 64 DVD+-R discs, but only eight DAT DDS-4
tapes.

Of course, these examples are extreme; most people don’t have a full
80GB worth of data to back up on their laptop. Of course, some may have more.
Also, if you organize your system properly, keeping data files separated from
program files, you can get away with backing up only the data, and not the
programs. This works because in most cases, if there is a drive failure, you
will have to reinstall your operating system and all your applications from
their original discs. Once the OS and applications are installed, you would
restore the data files from your backups.

The best form of backup has traditionally been magnetic tape. The two main
standards are Travan and digital audio tape (DAT). Travan drives are generally
slower and hold less than the newest DAT drives, but both are available in
relatively competitive versions. The latest Travan tape drives store 20GB/40GB
(raw/compressed) on a single tape, whereas fifth-generation DAT DDS drives store
36GB/72GB per tape. These tapes typically cost $15 or less. If you use larger
drives, new versions of DAT and other technologies can be used to back up your
drive.

Another alternative for backup is to use a second, external hard drive of
equal (or larger) capacity and simply copy from one drive to the other. With the
low cost of drives these days, and the ease of connecting an external drive via
USB or IEEE-1394 (FireWire/i.LINK), this turns out to be a fast, efficient, and
reasonably economical method. However, if a disaster occurs, such as theft or
fire, you could still lose everything. Also, with only one backup, if your
backup goes bad when you depend on it, you’ll be without any other
alternatives.

You can perform hard disk–based backups for more than one system with
an external hard drive. External hard disks are available in capacities up to
500GB or more, and if the destination drive is as large as or larger than the
source, the entire backup can be done in a single operation. Some external hard
drive models even offer one-button automated backups. Hard drives have come down
in price significantly over the years, as have the external USB and/or FireWire
enclosures to contain them, making disk-to-disk backup a cheaper, easier, and
significantly faster alternative to tape. Most laptops use 2.5-inch drives
internally, which are more expensive than the 3.5-inch drives used in desktop
systems or in most external enclosures. Because of this, you can purchase an
external hard drive equal to or larger than the full capacity of the internal
laptop drive for under $100 in most cases. As a minimum, I generally recommend
purchasing one or two external drives equal to or larger than the internal drive
in the laptop. By using two or more external drives, you can perform rotating
backups of the entire laptop drive, moving one of the backups offsite for even
greater protection from disaster.

TIP

No matter which backup solution you use, the entire exercise is pointless if
you cannot restore your data from the storage medium. You should test your
backup system by performing random file restores at regular intervals to ensure
the viability of your data.

If your backup supports disaster recovery, be sure to test this feature as
well by installing an empty drive and using the disaster-recovery feature to
rebuild the operating system and restore the data.

Cleaning a System

One of the most important operations in a good preventive maintenance program
is regular and thorough cleaning of the system inside and out. Unlike desktop
systems, laptop systems don’t have air flowing through all their parts, so
they are more immune to dust internally and normally don’t have to be
disassembled for cleaning. Laptops do, however, usually have fans that draw air
through cooling ducts with heatsinks mounted inside them. Dust buildup in these
cooling passages can be a problem because the dust acts as a thermal insulator,
which prevents proper cooling. Excessive heat shortens the life of components
and adds to the thermal stresses caused by greater temperature changes between
the system’s full power and sleep/power-off states. Additionally, the dust
can contain conductive elements that can cause partial short circuits in a
system. Other elements in dust and dirt can accelerate corrosion of electrical
contacts, resulting in improper connections. Regularly blowing out any dust and
debris from the cooling passages (through the vents) will benefit that system in
the long run.

Note that because laptop systems are much more difficult to disassemble, I
normally don’t recommend opening up or disassembling them just for
cleaning. Of course, if you have the system open for some other reason, you
should definitely take advantage of the opportunity and clean the interior
components thoroughly. For most general preventive maintenance, cleaning the
system externally or through any openings is sufficient. This means using either
compressed air or a vacuum cleaner to clean dirt out of the keyboard, cooling
vents, drive openings, data ports, or any other openings in the system.

TIP

Cigarette smoke contains chemicals that can conduct electricity and cause
corrosion of computer parts. The smoke residue can infiltrate the entire system,
causing corrosion and contamination of electrical contacts and sensitive
components, such as floppy drive read/write heads and optical drive lens
assemblies. You should avoid smoking near computer equipment and encourage your
company to develop and enforce a similar policy.

Cleaning Tools

Properly cleaning the system requires certain supplies and tools. Here are
some items used for cleaning:

LCD/keyboard/case cleaning solution

Canned air

Contact cleaner/enhancer

A small brush

Lint-free foam cleaning swabs

Antistatic wrist-grounding strap

Computer vacuum cleaner

These simple cleaning tools and chemical solutions enable you to perform most
common preventive maintenance tasks.

Chemicals

Chemicals can be used to help clean, troubleshoot, and even repair a system.
You can use several types of cleaning solutions with computers and electronic
assemblies. Most fall into the following categories:

Standard cleaning solutions

Contact cleaner/lubricants

Dusters

TIP

The makeup of many of the chemicals used for cleaning electronic components
has been changing because many of the chemicals originally used are now
considered environmentally unsafe. They have been attributed to damaging the
earth’s ozone layer. Chlorine atoms from chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and
chlorinated solvents attach themselves to ozone molecules and destroy them. Many
of these chemicals are now strictly regulated by federal and international
agencies in an effort to preserve the ozone layer. Most of the companies that
produce chemicals used for system cleaning and maintenance have had to introduce
environmentally safe replacements. The only drawback is that many of these safer
chemicals cost more and usually do not work as well as those they’ve
replaced.

Standard Cleaners

For the most basic function—cleaning exterior LCD screens, keyboards,
and cases—various chemicals are available. I normally recommend one of the
following:

50-50 mixture of isopropyl alcohol and water

Nonammoniated glass cleaner

Pure water (hot water works best)

Other solutions such as antistatic LCD cleaning cloths and Kimwipes are also
acceptable alternatives.

CAUTION

Isopropyl alcohol is a flammable liquid. Do not use alcohol cleaner near an
exposed flame or when the system is on.

The solutions should generally be in liquid form, not a spray. Sprays can be
wasteful, and you should never spray the solution directly on the system anyway.
Instead, lightly moisten a soft lint-free cloth, which is then used to wipe down
the parts to be cleaned.

Contact Cleaner/Lubricants

Contact cleaners/lubricants are chemicals similar to the standard cleaners
but are more pure and include a lubricating component. Although their cleaning
applications are more limited when dealing with a laptop system, these chemicals
do come in handy for cleaning connectors and internal or external cables. The
lubricant eases the force required when plugging and unplugging cables and
connectors, reducing strain on the devices. The lubricant coating also acts as a
conductive protectant that insulates the contacts from corrosion. These
chemicals can greatly prolong the life of a system by preventing intermittent
contacts in the future.

A unique type of contact cleaner/enhancer and lubricant called Stabilant 22
is available. This chemical, which you apply to electrical contacts, enhances
the connection and lubricates the contact point; it is much more effective than
conventional contact cleaners or lubricants. Stabilant 22 is a liquid-polymer
semiconductor; it behaves like liquid metal and conducts electricity in the
presence of an electric current. The substance also fills the air gaps between
the mating surfaces of two items that are in contact, making the surface area of
the contact larger and also keeping out oxygen and other contaminants that can
corrode the contact point.

This chemical is available in several forms. Stabilant 22 is the concentrated
version, whereas Stabilant 22a is a version diluted with isopropyl alcohol in a
4:1 ratio. An even more diluted 8:1-ratio version is sold in many high-end
stereo and audio shops under the name Tweek. Just 15ml of Stabilant 22a sells
for about $40; a liter of the concentrate costs about $4,000!

As you can see, pure Stabilant 22 is fairly expensive, but only a little is
required in any common application, and nothing else has been found to be quite
as effective in preserving electrical contacts. NASA even uses this chemical on
spacecraft electronics. An application of Stabilant can provide protection for
up to 16 years, according to its manufacturer, D.W. Electrochemicals. In
addition to enhancing the contact and preventing corrosion, an application of
Stabilant lubricates the contact, making insertion and removal of the connector
easier. See
http://www.stabilant.com
or check the Vendor List on this book’s DVD for more information.

Compressed-Air Dusters

Compressed air (actually a gas such as carbon dioxide) is often used as an
aid in system cleaning. You use the compressed-air can as a blower to remove
dust and debris from a system or component. Originally, these dusters used
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) such as Freon, whereas modern dusters use either
hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs such as difluoroethane) or carbon dioxide, neither of
which is known to damage the ozone layer. Be careful when you use these devices,
because some of them can generate a static charge when the compressed gas leaves
the nozzle of the can. Be sure you are using the type approved for cleaning or
dusting off computer equipment and consider wearing a static grounding strap as
a precaution. The type of compressed-air can used for cleaning camera equipment
sometimes differs from the type used for cleaning static-sensitive computer
components.

When using these compressed-air products, be sure you hold the can upright so
that only gas is ejected from the nozzle. If you tip the can, the raw propellant
will come out as a cold liquid, which not only is wasteful but can damage or
discolor plastics. You should use compressed gas only on equipment that is
powered off, to minimize any chance of damage through short circuits.

What I recommend with laptops is to turn them sideways or upside down (with
the power off) and use the compressed air to blast any junk out of the keyboard
as well as any openings on the front, sides, or rear, especially any cooling
vents. If you have the system open for any reason, you should take advantage of
the opportunity to use the compressed air to blow any dust or dirt out of the
interior as well.

Vacuum Cleaners

Some people prefer to use a vacuum cleaner instead of canned gas dusters for
cleaning a system. Canned air is usually better for cleaning in small areas as
is usually the situation with a portable system. A vacuum cleaner is more useful
when you are cleaning a larger desktop system loaded with dust and dirt. You can
use the vacuum cleaner to suck out the dust and debris instead of simply blowing
it around on the other components, which sometimes happens with canned air.
Still, vacuum cleaners are especially useful for sucking dirt out of keyboards,
whether on a laptop or desktop system. I also recommend vacuuming the cooling
vents on laptops, which is an easy way to remove dust without having to open the
unit.

For onsite servicing (when you are going to the location of the equipment
instead of the equipment coming to you), canned air is easier to carry in a
toolkit than a small vacuum cleaner. Tiny vacuum cleaners also are available for
system cleaning. These small units are easy to carry and can serve as an
alternative to compressed-air cans. Some special vacuum cleaners are
specifically designed for use on and around electronic components; they are
designed to minimize electrostatic discharge (ESD) while in use. If you are
using a regular vacuum cleaner and not one specifically designed with ESD
protection, you should take precautions, such as wearing a grounding wrist
strap. Also, if the cleaner has a metal nozzle, be careful not to touch it to
the circuit boards or components you are cleaning.

Brushes and Swabs

You can use a small makeup brush, photographic brush, or paintbrush to
carefully loosen the accumulated dirt and dust inside a laptop PC before
spraying it with canned air or using the vacuum cleaner. Be careful about
generating static electricity, however. In most cases, you should not use a
brush directly on any circuit boards, but only on the case interior and other
parts, such as fan blades, air vents, and keyboards. Wear a grounded wrist strap
if you are brushing on or near any circuit boards, and brush slowly and lightly
to prevent static discharges from occurring.

Use cleaning swabs to wipe off electrical contacts and connectors, floppy or
tape drive heads, and other sensitive areas. The swabs should be made of foam or
synthetic chamois material that does not leave lint or dust residue.
Unfortunately, proper foam or chamois cleaning swabs are more expensive than
typical cotton swabs. Do not use cotton swabs because they leave cotton fibers
on everything they touch. Cotton fibers are conductive in some situations and
can remain on drive heads, which can scratch the disks. Foam or chamois swabs
can be purchased at most electronics supply stores.

CAUTION

One item to avoid is an eraser for cleaning contacts. Many people (including
me) have recommended using a soft pencil-type eraser for cleaning circuit-board
or flex-cable contacts. Testing has proven this to be bad advice for several
reasons. One reason is that any such abrasive wiping on electrical contacts
generates friction and electrostatic discharge (ESD). This ESD can be damaging
to boards and components, especially the newer low-voltage devices. These
devices are especially static sensitive, and cleaning the contacts without a
proper liquid solution is not recommended. Also, the eraser will wear off the
gold coating on many contacts, exposing the tin contact underneath, which
rapidly corrodes when exposed to air.

Some companies sell premoistened contact cleaning pads soaked in a proper
contact cleaner and lubricant. These pads are safe to wipe on conductors and
contacts with no likelihood of ESD damage or abrasion of the gold plating.

Lightweight Lubricants

You can use a lightweight lubricant such as WD-40 or silicone to lubricate
the door mechanisms on disk drives and any other part of the system that might
require clean, lightweight lubrication. Other items you can lubricate are the
access doors for ports and PC Card/CardBus sockets, to provide smoother
operation.

Using WD-40 or silicone instead of conventional oils is important because
silicone does not gum up and collect dust and other debris. Always use the
lubricant sparingly. Do not spray it anywhere near the equipment because it
tends to migrate and will end up where it doesn’t belong (such as on drive
heads). Instead, apply a small amount to a toothpick or foam swab and dab the
silicone lubricant on the components where needed.

Obtaining Tools and Accessories

You can obtain most of the cleaning chemicals and tools discussed in this
chapter from an electronics supply house or even your local RadioShack. A
company called Chemtronics specializes in chemicals for the computer and
electronics industry. These and other companies that supply tools, chemicals,
and other computer- and electronic-cleaning supplies are listed in the Vendor
List on the DVD. With all these items on hand, you should be equipped for most
preventive maintenance operations.

Cleaning Procedures

Before you clean your system, I recommend a partial disassembly. By
partial, I mean taking out any items that can be easily removed without
using tools. This would normally include the battery, any drives in removable
bays, and any PC Cards. This may also include the hard drive in some systems as
well. Finally, open the access doors on the sides, back, or base of the system
as well. Because of the difficulty of opening the case on most laptops, I do not
recommend a complete disassembly just for the purpose of cleaning. Once any
easily accessible devices are removed and the access doors opened, use the
canned air to blow out any dust from these areas.

Cleaning Connectors and Contacts

Cleaning the connectors and contacts in a system promotes reliable
connections between devices. On a laptop system, the main connector you’ll
want to clean is that of the battery—both the contacts on the battery and
the mating contacts in the system. If there is dirt or dust on the memory
modules or sockets, you might want to remove the memory modules, clean the
contacts, and then reinstall them. Also, if you disassemble the system and
disconnect any flex-cables, it is recommended that you clean and treat the
flex-cable contacts before reinserting them into their mating connectors.

To do this, first moisten the lint-free cleaning swabs in the cleaning
solution. If you are using a spray, hold the swab away from the system and spray
a small amount on the foam end until the solution starts to drip. Then use the
swab to wipe the connectors and sockets. You might consider using Stabilant 22a
contact enhancer on these terminals to prevent corrosion and ensure a good
contact. Try to avoid touching any of the gold or tin contacts with your
fingers, which will coat them with oils and debris that can cause problems
later. Make sure the contacts are free of all finger oils and residue.

Cleaning the LCD and Case

To clean the exterior of your laptop system, use the following procedure:

Lightly moisten a soft lint-free cloth with either a 50-50 mixture of
isopropyl alcohol and water, nonammoniated glass cleaner, or pure water (hot
water works best). Never spray liquid cleaner directly on the system, especially
the display or keyboard.

Gently wipe the LCD panel with the moistened cloth and then follow with a dry
cloth. Be sure the cloth is not wet enough to drip and that the LCD is
completely dry when you’re finished. Antistatic LCD-cleaning cloths and
Kimwipes are also acceptable alternatives. Do not use standard paper towels,
which can scratch the LCD, or window cleaners with ammonia, which can damage or
stain the LCD.

NOTE

Kimwipes are disposable 8.5- by 4.5-inch wipes, basically heavy-duty
lint-free paper towels. They are a trademarked brand of Kimberly-Clark Corp.,
along with Kleenex, and are very popular in industrial, laboratory, and
photographic use.

Cleaning the Keyboard

Keyboards are notorious for picking up dirt and garbage. If you ever look
closely inside a used keyboard, you will be amazed at the junk you find in
there! To keep the keyboard clean, I recommend periodically blowing out the dirt
with a can of compressed air or sucking it out with a vacuum cleaner.

The best way to use the compressed air is to turn the system upside down and
shoot the keyboard with a can of compressed air tilted back on an angle. This
will blow out the dirt and debris that has accumulated inside the keyboard,
allowing it to fall to the ground rather than into your system. If done
regularly, this can prevent future problems with sticking keys or dirty
keyswitches. If you are using a vacuum cleaner, you can leave the system in a
normal orientation because the vacuum will suck the debris up and out without
allowing it to fall deeper inside the system.

Once the dust and dirt are blown out of the keyboard, you can then clean any
cosmetic dirt or stains from the keycaps. The best way to accomplish this is to
wipe the keycaps with a soft cloth moistened in isopropyl alcohol cleaning
solution and then follow with a dry cloth.

If a particular key is stuck or making intermittent contact, you’ll
want to soak or spray the faulty keyswitch with contact cleaner. This cannot be
done with the keyboard mounted in the system because some of the cleaner may
drip inside. To prevent that, before you attempt to clean the keyswitch, I
recommend you remove the keyboard from the system. Consult your owner’s
manual (or maintenance manual if you have one) for the keyboard-removal
procedure. Most laptops have keyboards that can be removed fairly easily. If you
don’t have a procedure for your system, use the sample procedure listed
later in this chapter.

After the keyboard is removed, you can remove the keycap from the problem
keyswitch and spray the cleaner into the switch. I usually do this over a sink
so that the excess liquid doesn’t drip onto the floor. Then replace the
keycap, reinstall the keyboard, and test it to see whether the key works
properly. If it doesn’t, you may need to replace the keyboard with a new
one. Normally, you cannot replace individual keyswitches. After that, periodic
vacuuming or blowing out the keyboard with compressed air will go a long way
toward preventing more serious problems with sticking keys and keyswitches.

Cleaning the TrackPoint or Touchpad

The TrackPoint or touchpad pointing devices used in laptops normally require
very little or no maintenance. These devices are totally sealed and relatively
immune to dirt or dust. Merely blow off the area around the TrackPoint with
compressed air or wipe down the surface of the touchpad with a mild cleaning
solution to remove oils and other deposits that have accumulated from handling
them. If you have a TrackPoint and the cap is excessively stained or greasy, you
can remove it and soak it in some cleaning solution. If the stain won’t
come out and/or the cap is excessively worn, it would be a good idea to simply
replace the cap with a new one. Replacement TrackPoint caps are available in
three different designs from a number of sources including Compu-Lock at
http://www.compu-lock.com.
Toshiba Accupoint caps can be obtained from any Toshiba Authorized Service
Provider (ASP). To find the closest ASP, check with Toshiba at
http://pcsupport.toshiba.com.
Dell track stick caps can be ordered from Dell directly via its Customer Service
department.

Hard Disk Maintenance

Certain preventive maintenance procedures protect your data and ensure that
your hard disk works efficiently. Some of these procedures actually minimize
wear and tear on your drive, which prolongs its life. Additionally, a higher
level of data protection can be implemented by performing some simple commands
periodically. These commands provide methods for backing up (and possibly later
restoring) critical areas of the hard disk that, if damaged, would disable
access to all your files.

Defragmenting Files

Over time, as you delete and save files to your hard disk, the files become
fragmented. This means they are split into many noncontiguous areas on the disk.
One of the best ways to protect both your hard disk and the data on it is to
periodically defragment the files on the disk. This serves two purposes: One is
that by ensuring that all the files are stored in contiguous sectors on the
disk, head movement and drive "wear and tear" are minimized. This has
the added benefit of improving the speed at which the drive retrieves files by
reducing the head thrashing that occurs every time it accesses a fragmented
file.

The second major benefit, and in my estimation the more important of the two,
is that in the case of a disaster in which the file system is severely damaged,
the data on the drive can usually be recovered much more easily if the files are
contiguous. On the other hand, if the files are split up in many pieces across
the drive, figuring out which pieces belong to which files is virtually
impossible. For the purposes of data integrity and protection, I recommend
defragmenting your hard disk drives on a monthly basis.

The three main functions in most defragmentation programs are as follows:

File defragmentation

File packing (free space consolidation)

File sorting

Defragmentation is the basic function, but most other programs also add file
packing. Packing the files is optional on some programs because it usually takes
additional time to perform. This function packs the files at the beginning of
the disk so that all free space is consolidated at the end of the disk. This
feature minimizes future file fragmentation by eliminating any empty holes on
the disk. Because all free space is consolidated into one large area, any new
files written to the disk are capable of being written in a contiguous manner
with no fragmentation.

The last function, file sorting (sometimes called disk optimizing),
is not usually necessary and is performed as an option by many defragmenting
programs. This function adds a tremendous amount of time to the operation and
has little or no effect on the speed at which information is accessed later. It
can be somewhat beneficial for disaster-recovery purposes because you will have
an idea of which files came before or after other files if a disaster occurs.
Not all defragmenting programs offer file sorting, and the extra time it takes
is probably not worth any benefits you will receive. Other programs can sort the
order in which files are listed in directories, which is a quick-and-easy
operation compared to sorting the file listing (directory entries) on the
disk.

Windows 9x/Me/2000/XP include a disk-defragmentation program with the
operating system that you can use on any file system the OS supports. For older
operating systems such as DOS, Windows 3.x, and some versions of NT, you must
purchase a third-party defragmentation program.

The disk-defragmentation programs included with Windows are extremely slow
and don’t offer many options or features, so it is a good idea to purchase
something better. Norton Utilities includes a disk defragmenter, as do many
other utility packages. An excellent defrag program that works on all operating
systems is VOPT by Golden Bow
(http://www.vopt.com).
It is one of the fastest and most efficient defragmenting programs on the
market, and it is very inexpensive. See the Vendor List on the DVD for more
information on these companies and their programs.

Windows Maintenance Wizard

Windows 98 and above include a Task Scheduler program that enables you to
schedule programs for automatic execution at specified times. The Maintenance
Wizard walks you through the steps of scheduling regular disk defragmentations,
disk error scans, and deletions of unnecessary files. You can schedule these
processes to execute during nonworking hours, so regular system activities are
not disturbed.

Virus and Spyware Checking

Viruses and Sypware are a danger to any system, and making scans with
antivirus and antispyware utilities a regular part of your preventive
maintenance program is a good idea. Many aftermarket utility packages are
available that scan for and remove viruses and sypware. No matter which of these
programs you use, you should perform a scan periodically, especially before
making hard-disk backups. This helps ensure that you catch any potential problem
before it becomes a major catastrophe. In addition, selecting a product from a
vendor that provides regular updates to the program’s signatures is
important. The signatures determine which viruses and sypware the software can
detect and cure, and because new viruses and spyware are constantly being
introduced, these updates are essential.

TIP

Because viruses and especially spyware are more dangerous and numerous than
ever, it is a good idea to enable the automatic update feature found in most
recent programs to keep your protection up to date. Even if you have a dial-up
connection, it takes only a few minutes a day to get downloads. If you have a
broadband connection, the latest protection is downloaded in just a few
moments.